Lapbook Topics

Lead me, O Lord..(Psalm 5:8)

On education: It was like a light just came on!

LAPBOOK TOPICS

The biggest creative challenge in making a lapbook is choosing a topic.

The topics you choose must meet your educational needs, be interesting and have sufficient amounts of obtainable information.

Obtainable Information

I have great news for you. Between the internet, your school books and your local libraries and bookstores most topics have all the information you can use readily available.

Note of Caution

When researching, use reliable resources only. Cross check your information with multiple resources and known facts.

Warning: Teacher Nag Alert (TNA)

I know you know this but it is worth saying....information on the internet is NOT always reliable, truthful or useable. Cross check.

Interesting

So how does one pick a lapbook topic that is interesting? Here are a few ideas.

1. Brainstorm topics with your children
2. Peruse your school books for ideas, people, facts that are not covered in depth
3. Join or create a lapbooking group with other families then brainstorm together
4. Lapbook any field trips you do
5. Lapbook movies, books your child is reading or games they are playing
6. Do a seasonal lapbook: Winter or Winter Holidays or Christmas movies
7. Do a lapbook on their favorite sport, team, or hobby
8. Open up an encyclopedia and randomly choose a topic

Meets Educational Needs

Regardless of the lapbook topic, the process of creating and completing a lapbook uses many essential skills necessary for learning and comprehending a subject.

As a homeschooling mother one thing I want for my children is to teach in a way that they learn whatever we are studying before advancing onto another section.

Warning: Homeschool Point of View (HPV)

Taking and passing tests is the public school way of testing comprehension but it doesn’t tell me what they (my children) know. Tests tell me only what they don’t know in a hit and miss fashion. It is feasible that a child can know incredible amounts of information on a topic and still fail a test. Put aside things like test anxiety and other influences in a school setting it is still possible to know a subject and fail a test. It all depends on what the teacher deems important.

Personal example below.

The question I ask of you here is, “What do you deem important for your child to know about a topic?”

Choosing an appropriate topic is easier if you know what you expect them to learn and the skills you want them to have when they go out on their own.

Lapbooking can reinforce a topic using skills in researching, writing, language, art, typing, computer use and can branch into science, history and into any other area necessary educationally speaking. What is important to you that your child knows?

I know you didn’t come to this page to find my HPV’s and TNA’s, you came to get ideas on lapbook topics.

LAPBOOK TOPICS

A mighty powerful but short list!

Note: Highlighted and underlined topics have been expanded and will open in another page.

Lapbook topics Math
Science Topics

History

Art

Physical Education

Field Trips

Movies

Languages

Reading

Books

Hobbies

People

Concepts

Religion

Writing

Success

Skills

Music

Values

Places

Creatures/Plants

Self

Personal Testing Story

In the box above, I mentioned a personal story on the topic of testing. Here it is.

During my internship year for Medical Technology, I had an instructor who wanted to make a point that is critically important for Medical Technologists. The point was that a Technologist must read and follow instructions. So when the instructor handed out the midterm exam she made a point to stress that we should read the instructions.

This exam was a midterm and to the students meant an important exam.

The test looked just like all the previous tests and we, the students set to working on it.